Process for monitoring a solid adsorption process by radioactive means



Sept. 27, 1960 D. R. cARMoDY 2,954,338

PROCESS FOR MONITORING A SOLID ADSORPTION PRocEss BY RADIOACTIVE MEANS Filed June 24, 1955 SEPA RA TOR l/A/ TERHEA rms IN VEN TOR. Don l?. Carmody A ORNEY A United States A Patentl gO y I2,954,333 PROCESS non Monia-orange Ascun -nnsonrrroN rnocnssnranamoncnvnmms Donk. Carmody, Crete, V.111., assignorto Standard Oil u .Company,'Chicago, lll., Vincorporation o'fflndiana FilediJune'24, 1955, SenN'o. 517,713

s Claims. CLTZOS-J-l) "invention relatesf'to-improvements in'theloperation fof ffcatalytic processing systems. its *broader aspects, Vx iti-providesV improved meansl'forprotecting Asensitive cataflys'tsl'in 'such systemsffrom -the'harniful eifec'ts-o'fpoiscns which may be present Ain -itrace amounts in fe'eil i streams. 'In a' more specific -aspect, iiteprovid'es'an gimproved 'process v@for-reforrning T'hydrocarbon rcharg'eestocks Ainlthe-"presence of ay platinum -typecatalystf-wheren fthe removal ofconl `Jraininati-ng poisons from a charge 'stream -pr-io'r to V'contact with the catalyst is monitoredbyf radioactive means.

The economic operation of 'many' catlyt'icprocesses depends to a vsignificant vextent `uponflsvrotectionrof -1the fbfdyof catalyst in ithe `reaction' zonelfrom contact-with -`catalyst poisons `which may be yintroduced with 'a L"feed "'streamffreshor recycle, to the process. 'T'helmost 'trouble- :jsome-contaminants may ebefpresent' in"traceamounts 'in lt'heprocess'feed as fin fthe case ofY most gpetrol'eum 'charge "stoks 'which' normally contain in I'combined fform minute 'ooncjentrations iofy metals -suc'h -as sodium,arsenic,rno1yb Jenum, vanadium, v'for' example, Aias Well -as 1val'yrg 'amounts of combined sulfuraandcnitrogen.

l'in continuous iiow processes in v'llich"recylestreams "are 'returned to the react-ion zone, the initial'concentra'tion `"ofthe A'contaminant in y'the-feed may not 'beharmfuLA but s'buildfu-p fon the catalyst body by adsorption'nay produce vcumulativeeffects resulting in ,yieldor quality loss, and which'fultirnately mayshut rtlowrrthe unit. dAparticularly Vserious problem 'in 'reforming `in the Apresence of *platinum type catalysts has been'the 1 presence ofi even 'seemingly minute 'concentrations of arsenicin'the lhydrocarbonfeed. There have 'been .instances 'where 4varsenicspos'oning ibe'errso critical that commercial plants have never reached their anticipated .performance level. Y y

' 'A conventional Vmethod of vfeedfpurification*is to'pass "the feed stream 'through a" guard chamberibefore yintroducing it to the'reaction' 'zone' containing'ithercatalyst.

The guard chamber may'tcontainran acid -oriicaustic bath t for scrubbingthefeed, but advantageouslymay contain a body of solid`ad`s'orbenVmateria1 whichwill remove conlftaminantsffrom the `feed by. selectiveadsorption. Tin ,any vIcsa'se, the material used i.for-purifying the feedfst'ream tends to lose capacity/as a functionofA time and the con?. centration of contaminants in the feed. It is essential lAtherefore 'to know'whenwthe -puriiication material `is= 'approaching the spent stageifsoithat fit'fcan be reactivated, or the `guard chamber replaced with v fresh material.

' "According .to Ymy 'inventionithe faiisorptive capacity of the purification material andits approachtoehaustin 'are' monitored by :radioactive means. 'A` dioact'ive iso- .tope -.of the contaminantftobe removed'from 't'hefed "is introduced to a` purification'zoneV a'taQpoirit ,nearfthe feed inlet, .and theI radioactivity ofthe feed stream flowingl YUtl'troug'h the Vzone is 'measured` fs'tream-'altjagpoint near its discharge from the ione'. "Asliitb'le 'recofds made or signal provided so that iiow may be shut down or diverted to another purication zone when breakthrough of the radioactive contaminant is indicated. The

radioactive isotope may be introduced continuously or Iice 'intermittentlylin extremely minute quantities, k1but radvan- `Ftragemsly it Vvis 4introduced by admixture with 'e adsorbent `-`Lmaterial at thetop of lanfadsorptionbed arranged inrthe V:purification zone 'for vadsorptive contact with lvtheifeed 5 l-'strea=m. l

' Thevinvention will lbe vvfurther describe-'d by Iarspeciic example illustrating operation ofthe invention lalrrplietlras indicated on the iiow diagram of lthe accompanying *dr-anfing. v Infthc `accompanying drawing, simplified flow through 4"alcatalytic reforming `unit of Y5000 r*bbls/day-'capacityis "illustrated -in diagrammatic form. The feed tothe'un'it constitutes a vvirgin Pennsylvania naphtha having ian arsenic concentration, forfexample, of `5 to 50 p pim. naphtha'chargaboiling in the -rangeof aboutfl S'tto 00 F., ispassed from line 1'0, 4downiiow as shown, through oneof agpair of guard chambers 11 -and i110. The-'guard chamberseach contain a solid adsorbent bed l'i12 comprising, for example, 5-30 mesh bauxite. 'The itopl'ayer *of ythe adsorbent bed-indicated at '13, is'treated ll-w'ith 7x4afraclioact isotope of arsenic, e.g. Yarsenic-'73, n2ina'nj-amcuntproviding about 1 to 10fmicrocuries per square lfoot of cross section. The concentration Vo'fthe fralioactive isotope is not critical but should be'limited 5`-inA thefintere'st'fof safety. `By way of examp1e,`the'oxide r'cif'rarsenic473 'or Yarsenic-74 or admixtures thereof maybe employed fw'ith advantage The arsenic isotopeds con- "'veriient'ly1'added by impregnation with "a .solution jef'its oxide'inia'dilute aqueous acid or base; Ve;g. hydrochloric 3 and,ffhfaughinjecasn nnss 1s v.and 15a. Alternativen, Lithe-'radioactive arsenic may be injected `continuously'or interrn'ittently into the onstream guard chamber through 1ines"14 rand I5 '(orf15al) in oil 'soluble form. Forexampla "a dilute-solution Aof a hydrocarbon soluble .arsenic 3 Acompoundssuch ,as `the 'triiodi'de of arsenic 73-'74"inl-a lportion of thenaphtha'feed may be '.used. y Y As the adsorbent in bed '12 removes contaminating larseni'clfrom vthe feed stream, the radioactive isotopefis cisplaced and'gradually moves down .the bed, apparently 'bythe mechanism' of ,exchange with the `arsenic'coni-v ;ponndsin the feed. In orderto detect the presenceof radioactivity :initheilowerportionof the bed, a suitable "device'suc'h as'a'Geiger counter 17 (and 17a) is installed `in bed "'12 near thejpoint of discharge into eiiiuent :line IS. "Inplace of Geiger counters '17, other known devices for "detecting radioactivity, eg. Vionization chambers, "sciint'illationlfcounters or vthe like, maybe used. "Thedeltector sgoperatively connected to va sealer .or countrate V'-rnet'erSl (Iand 514') and, advantageously,` viaia relay 52 "(andl 5211i) toa recorder'SS, or to an alarm or 'otherwarning device. Thus, Ywhen a level of radioactivity is de- "te'cted' which'exceeds ajpredetermined amount associated V'with advance offradioisotope; front, the operatorv receives ".Warning' 'that' the adsorbent" requires replacement vor reactiva't'ion. In establishing 'the 'predetermined value, ail- "lowancefshouldlbe'madefor the average radioactive"back ground 'ofthe system as well as the properties and concentration of the-radioisotope 'used as a tracer,

When .the .radioisotope front reaches detector `17 v(or 60 `f1.7a`)the feed stream is switched from guard cham-ber 411"to`jguard`chamber .11a containing -fres-h adsorbent "by closing valves`19 and 20 and opening valves-21 andf2`2. vQGuafri chamber 11a, Ylike guard chamber'l11, isequipped jlvii'thmeans forfintroducng 'the radioisotope yand'for de- 65j tingthepresence of radioactivity neartheoutlet-end .thetharnberaasiindicated above. Y ,t Q .i s nrwThe eliuentifee'd stream fromfguard chamberl' `(or `11a)"'is passed "by"line"23'through 'iire'd heater `24"iito reactor inlet line 25. Recycle hydrogen gas from line 26 is lpassed through a coil in the convection section of heater 24 and is introduced to reactor inlet line 25 by connection 27. The combined feed and hydrogen reve guard chamber.

vingV systems.

is passed through interheater 29 by means of lines 30 and 31 and is then introduced to reactor 32. From reactor 32, the eiuent is passed via line 33 through interheater 34 and via line 35 is introduced to reactor 36.

VThe efuent from reactor 36 is passed by connections 37,

cooler 38, and connection 39 to separator 40. Hydrogen rich gas is ashed from separator 40 into line 41. Approximately 5000 cubic feet per barrel of feed of hydrogen rich gas is recycled by means of compressor system 42. Net make `gas is vented from the system through valved line 43. The liquid reformate is recovered from separator 40 by mean-s of line 44 and is passed to stabilization and/ or other conventional processing facilities.

lreforming conditions are adjusted to the severity requlred for the type of feed and the desired product octane level. For example, a temperature in the range of about 900 to 1000 F. is maintained at a space velocity in the range of about 0.5 to 5 expressed in terms of weight of feed per weight of catalyst in the reaction zone per hour. An elevated pressure in the range of about 100 to 750, advantageously from about 200 to 300 p.s.i.g. is maintained on the system. Recycle hydrogen rate may vary from about-2,000 to 10,000 cubic feet per barrel. Although the reforming system may be operated ,for long periods of ori-stream hydrocarbon processing time, it is advantageous to provide facilities for regeneratlon of the catalyst by carbon burn-off with an oxygen containing gas. Regeneration may be provided in a blocked-out operation or may be integrated with the processing cycle by providing sufficient reactors for cyclic periods of reaction and regeneration.

In the above example, the invention is applied to monitor the removal of arsenic yfrom the hydrocarbon feed of a fixed bed platinum-alumina reforming system. As

, noted above, the radioisotope in this operation is advantageously arsenic-73, which has a half life of 76 days, or arsenic-74 which has a half life of 18 days. Also available lare arsenic-76, which has a half life of 26.8 hours, and arsenic-77, which has a half life of 40 hours.

The radioisotopes may be obtained in the form of the oxide which may be conveniently used for impregnating a shallow layer of the adsorbent bed near the inlet of the The oxide, for example, is dissolved in dilute aqueous alkali or acid to provide a solution for impregnating the adsorbent in a safe but effective concentration. Hydrocarbon solutions for metering into the feed can be prepared using a halide of the radioisotope,

erg. arsenic triiodide or an organic derivative of the isotope, e.g. arsenic diethyl or arsenic triphenyl. Radioisotopes which differ from the contaminating element in the vfeed also may be used provided they have related adother metallic `and non-metallic contaminating elements or their compounds from feed streams to catalytic process- For example, sodium-24 or potassium-42 are available in the form of carbonatos and can be used to monitor the removal of alkali metal contaminants -fromthe feed stream. Iron-59 and sulfur-35 are available in elemental form and are useful for guarding against iron contamination or in detecting the effectiveness of sulfur removal. The form of the processing sys- 1956, pp. 78-84 relied on.

tem can be varied considerably in the practice of the in vention. The catalyst in the processing step may be handled in the form of a fixed or moving bed of pellets, tablets or pills, or it may be handled in the form of a fluidized Ibed in finely divided form.

The adsorbent solid is selected for the contaminant to be removed. Bauxite clay,-silica gel and the like are effective for arsenic. Lime, caustic or metal oxides have value for more acidic contaminants.

l claim:

1. In the operation of a catalytic conversion process wherein the feed stream to the catalytic conversion Zone is pretreated to remove small quantities of arsenic by passage through a bed of solid adsorbent in an adsorption zone, the improved method of monitoring the adsorptive life of the adsorbent bed in the adsorption zone which comprises introducing radioactive arsenic 73-74 at a point near the inlet to the adsorption zone, detecting the level of radioactivity in the adsorbent bed at point near the discharge from the adsorption zone, and discontinuing ow throughthe adsorption zone when a predetermined level of radioactivity is detected.

2. The process of claim 1 in which the feed is a hydrocarbon naphtha charge stock to a catalytic reforming system using a platinum-alumina type catalyst.

3. The process of claim 1 in which the radioactive isotope is introduced as the oxide of arsenic 73-74.

4. The process of claim 1 in which the radioactive isotope is introduced as the triiodide of arsenic 73-74.

5. In t-he operation of a catalytic conversion process wherein the feed stream to the catalytic conversion zone is pretreated to removesmall quantities of a metal contaminant by Apassage through a bed of solid adsorbent in an adsorption zone, the improved method of monitoring the adsorptive life of the adsorbent bed in the adsorption zone which comprises introducing a radioactive isotope of said metal contaminant at a point near the inlet to the `adsorption Zone, said radioactive isotope having ad sorptive properties corresponding to said metal contaminant, detecting'the level of radioactivity inthe adsorbent bed at a point near the dischargefrom the adsorption zone, land discontinuing flow through the adsorption zone when a predetermined level of radioactivity is detected.

6. The'process of claim 5 in which the feed is a hydrocarbon naphtha charge stock to a catalytic reforming system using a platinum-alumina type catalyst.

7. The process of claim 5 in which the radioactive i s otope of the contaminant metal is introduced by impregnating a shallow'y layer of the absorbent near the inlet to the adsorption zone.

8. The process of Aclaim 5 in which the radioactive isotope is introduced as a dilute hydrocarbon solution into the feed stream ovving to the adsorption Zone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,187,741 Houdry Jan. 23, 1940 2,573,149 Kassel Oct. 30, 1951 1 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,064,400 France May 13, 1954 OTHER REFERENCES Chemical -Reiining of Petroleum, Kalischevsky, Reinhold Publ. Co. (1942), pages 34-35.

The Oil and GasJournal, Linz (Radioisotopes), vol.

A 52, No. 19, pages 106, 108 and 139 (1953).

Hull: VNucleonics, volume 13, No. 4, April 1955, pp. 18-21 relied on.

Wagner et al.: Nucleonics, volume 14, No. 4, April 

1. IN THE OPERATION OF A CATALYTIC CONVERSION PROCESS WHEREIN THE FEED STREAM TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERSION ZONE IS PRETREATED TO REMOVE SMALL QUANTITIES OF ARSENIC BY PASSAGE THROUGHH A BED OF SOLID ADSORBENT IN AN ADSORPTION ZONE, THE IMPROVED METHOD OF MONITORING AND ADSORPTIVE LIFE OF THE ADSORBENT BED IN THE ADSORPTION ZONE WHICH COMPRISES INTRODUCING RADIOACTIVE ARSENIC 73-74 AT A POINT NEAR THE INLET TO THE ADSORPTION ZONE, DETECTING THE LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVITY IN THE ABSORBENT BED AT A POINT NEAR THE DISCHARGE FROM THE ADSORPTION ZONE, AND DISCONTINUING FLOW THROUGH THE ADSORPTION ZONE WHEN A PREDETERMINED LEVEL OF RADIOACTIVITY IS DECTED.
 2. THE PROCESS OF CLAIM 1 IN WHICH THE FEED IS HYDROCARBON NAPHTHA CHARGE STOCK TO A CATALYTIC REFORMING SYSTEM USING A PLATINUM-ALUMINA TYPE CATALYST. 